#2 How To Learn A Language (Part 2/3)
The Best Ways To Learn A Language
To learn a language is to interact with another human being at a real level of understanding. You must want to understand what the other person is saying or trying to say. You must be curious. You must learn how to ask questions, to get the answers you want to know.
We learn by being in real situations with real people and real events, not ones created or imaginary, unless, of course, you are an extremely powerful actor, in a real frame of mind for the scene you are going to play in real life. Films are, also, very real, but, remember, no matter the film you watch, it is not the real world. It is a condensed form of the real world, whether dramatic or comedic, but it is not reality, only an essence of what occurs in reality.
Life is real, it’s not a film. Never forget that. Life, definitely, is not make believe, so, make your conversations real. They will become real, the more you begin to enter the language, and the more you listen and observe. Whether through real life, videos, films, or books, you will become more and more aware. Remember, learning and acquiring is a process. It will happen eventually, however, no one can say when your awareness will increase or when you will have entered into a language and its culture. It takes practice, time, and experience.
Interaction with real people, or exposure to the language, plus guidance in the language, and trial and error in real situations, all play a vital role in the learning and acquisition of a new language.
Note, I said acquisition of the language and not just learning it. Do you know the difference? Study the two words, side by side, from the dictionary, and see, if you can distinguish them.
The absolute best ways to learn and acquire a language are to:
1. Travel abroad to the country whose language you want to learn. Stay there for as long as you can, ideally, at least, one year. You may need to do it several times during a period of your life or, all of life, depending on your goals and objectives.
This option is not available to everyone, because of either the time needed and/or the money involved to do such a thing. Do what you can, however. You have to do the best with what you have.
2. Learn the language through media such as the Internet, TV, movies, video documentaries, video lectures, video talks, and, of course, chats with others online, using audio and/or video. Speak online with a native speaker of the language, if it’s possible. This is the next best thing to actually being in real situations.
3. Chat with an online tutor or a teacher of English so that you can have your questions answered. If you have doubts, or if you need clarification about something you heard and are trying to learn, a tutor, who is a native speaker of English, and who is trained in language and linguistics, can help.
When in doubt about anything in the language you are learning, always ask a native speaker or, better yet, a trained tutor or teacher of English who is trained in language and linguistics, until you learn how to help yourself.
Necessary monolingual dictionaries for Brazilian students:
1. Michaelis (Brazilian Portuguese = PT-BR):
http://michaelis.uol.com.br/
2. The Free Dictionary (American and British English = EN-US and EN-GB):
http://www.thefreedictionary.com
Necessary bilingual dictionaries for Brazilian students:
1. Michaelis (PT-BR –> EN-US/GB and EN-US/GB –> PT-BR):
http://michaelis.uol.com.br/
2. Word Reference (PT-BR –> EN-US/GB and EN-US/GB –> PT-BR/GB):
http://www.wordreference.com
Relate the following links for great information about learning that can be applied to learning a language, even if, at first, you think it may not be related. The links below can help your learning process, among other interesting subjects that will help learning.
If you read the articles carefully, you will learn a lot that you can apply to your understanding and knowledge. You can apply this knowledge as you see fit.
Note: The writer of this handout, the tutor, is not associated with any product or anything else at the following links. They are for information only.
5 Ways To Learn A New Language
https://www.thoughtco.com/ways-to-learn-a-new-language-31252
7 Tenets of Creative Thinking
https://www.edutopia.org/blog/7-tenets-of-creative-thinking-michael-michalko
How To Become A Creative Genius
https://www.lifehack.org/articles/featured/how-to-become-a-creative-genius.html
The Habits Guide
https://jamesclear.com/habits
Mastering Creativity
https://jamesclear.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/creativity-v1.pdf
The Best Websites For Developing Academic English Skills & Vocabulary
https://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2008/04/06/the-best-websites-for-developing-academic-english-skills-vocabulary/
8 Ways to Train Your Brain to Learn Faster and Remember More
https://www.lifehack.org/articles/productivity/8-ways-train-your-brain-learn-faster-and-remember-more.html
How To Memorize Things Quicker Than Other People
https://www.lifehack.org/articles/productivity/how-memorize-things-quicker-than-other-people.html
How to Activate Your Super Conscious Mind!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8Kxz7iTpEE
Trivium Education
https://www.triviumeducation.com/
©2019 Farley Leite de Akers
Tutor of English | All Rights Reserved
October 3, 2019
